Voting rights victories abound this week! On a national level, the cornerstone Voting Rights Act of 1965 was upheld by a federal judge. In the states, election officials dispel myths of unscrupulous voters who game the election system.
- In a victory for voting rights, a federal judge upheld a key provision under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that requires states with a history in voter suppression to seek federal approval before changing voting laws. Shelby County, Alabama had sued to overturn the cornerstone voting rights law, but “a spokeswoman for the Justice Department says the department will keep on defending any and all constitutional challenges to the law,” reports Carrie Johnson at NPR.
- A Colorado election official stands up for voters with her plan to send ballots “inactive” voters for the November 1 election, against warnings of a lawsuit from Secretary of State Scott Gessler. “Inactive” voters include voters who did not vote in the last election as well as those who did not receive a notification mailed to them by election officials. Contrary to Gessler’s interpretation of the law, inactive voters are entitled to vote in elections under Colorado Revised Statutes 1-2-605.
- The voter fraud investigationof 206 Maine public university students recently concluded with no evidence of illegal voting. The students were singled out by the state Republican Party, who alleged voter fraud was a problem in Maine. Although the investigation turned up no voter impersonation or double voting, the GOP and chief election official still claim that there are election “integrity” problems in the state, but are unclear on what exactly what the issues may be.
- Cook County, Ill. clerk, David Orr warns against the fine line between protecting and preventing democracy when it comes to implementing laws to combat voter fraud. “The process works, which today’s debate ignores,” he says about the push for photo ID laws in a recent Chicago Sun Times opinion piece. More here.
- Tennessee seniors–who are trying to obtain free photo ID in order to vote under the state’s new law–are reporting issues with long wait times and “confusion among clerks about what is required.” According to the Associated Press, “Safety Commissioner Bill Gibbons says he knows it takes too long and now as many as 126,000 seniors for whom a photo was not required for driving are coming back to get a free photo version.”